Dismissed police officer in Lagos faces trial after being caught stealing motorcycles

- The police command in Lagos has arrested and arraigned one of its sacked officials, Usman Zubairu, for allegedly stealing and reselling motorcycles

- Zubairu in his confession revealed that he resorted to stealing in order to make a living after he was sacked in 2014

- The presiding judge, A. A. Fashola, in an Ikeja magistrate court, granted the suspect a bail of N80,000, and adjourned the case till Monday, February 18

A dismissed police officer in Lagos, Usman Zubairu, who hails from Anambra has been arrested for allegedly stealing and reselling motorcycles.

Punch reports that Zubairu, who was sacked in 2014, was said to have operated under the guise of being an active policeman to sway unsuspecting victims. He meet his doom while he was attempt to deceive another motorcyclist in the state.

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One of the suspect's victims, Chinda Ayuba, revealed to newsmen that he agreed to release his motorcycle to Zubairu because assuming that he was a policeman.

Ayuba stated: “A man stopped my motorcycle and introduced himself as a policeman. He told me to take him to Ijora from the Maroko area of Lagos, and I told him that I could not go there. He begged me to help him and promised that no policeman would arrest me.

“While on our way, he saw two boys and asked me to stop. He asked the boys what happened and they explained that some policemen had seized their motorcycles.

"He asked the boys to give him N1,000 each in order to assist them to get their motorcycles back. He then collected my motorcycle and asked me to wait with the two boys. I waited till sunset but he did not come back with my motorcycle.”

Abdulmalik Isah (26-year-old) another victim, said Zubairu guised as a mobile policeman and took him to the Maroko Police Station where his vehicle was stolen.

Isah revealed: “He claimed to be a mobile policeman and made me to take him to the Maroko Police Station. On getting there, he asked me to follow him inside, which I did.

“He told me to wait for him at the station that he wanted to buy something outside. After some time, I decided to come out to check my motorcycle and I could not find it where it was parked. I waited from 2pm till 6pm before I made a report at the police station.”

Isah added that Zubairu was nabbed by the police when he tried to steal another motorcycle from a rider.

On his part, Zubairu confessed that he resorted to theft in order to make a living after he was sacked from service.

He said: “I was recruited to the Nigeria Police Force in 2001 and I was later mobilised to the Mopol 9 Squadron in Kano State. In 2014, I killed a man while on duty and I was dismissed.

"I was charged to court for murder and while I was awaiting trial in prison, the family of the deceased decided to withdraw the case from the court in 2017.

“I came to Lagos in August 2018 and because I didn’t have a means of livelihood, I started stealing and re-selling motorcycles.

“I have stolen about four motorcycles and I sell the motorcycles to one Yerima at Tin Can, Apapa, Lagos. I only get to see Yerima between 3.30am and 4.30am, because he is always on night duty.”

Zubairu was later arraigned before an Ikeja magistrates court on two counts of stealing. Michael Unah, the police prosecutor, said that Zubairu's crimes violated Section 280 which are punishable under Section 287(5)(1) of the criminal law of Lagos state, 2015.

The charges against him in court stated: “That you, Usman Zubairu, sometime in September 2018, at Ketu area of Lagos, in the Lagos Magisterial District, did steal one Bajaj motorcycle valued at N220,000, property of one Chinda Ayuba.

“That you, Usman Zubairu, on October 10, 2018, around 4pm at the Bar Beach area of Lagos State, in the Lagos Magisterial District, did steal one Bajaj motorcycle valued at N215,000, property of one Abdulmalik Isah.”

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The presiding magistrate, A. A. Fashola, admitted the defendant to bail in the sum of N80,000 with two sureties in like sum, adding that the sureties must be gainfully employed with evidence of three years tax payment to the state Government and have their addresses verified by the court.

Fashola further said that the sureties must reside within the court’s jurisdiction and adjourned the case till Monday, February 18.

Meanwhile, Legit.ng reported that four policemen attached to Ijanikin division in Lagos had been arrested for allegedly robbing one Theodore Ifunnaya of 350,000 CFA (about N221,508).

The police spokesman in Lagos, CSP Chike Oti, said that the victim was a Nigerian based in Togo. Oti said that the policemen faced dismissal if found guilty, stressing, however, that the victim was not stripped naked during interrogation as being alleged in some quarters.

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Source: Legit.ng